pumpkin bars

I thought perhaps with the upcoming holiday that maybe it might be nice to share some good recipes that you can take to Thanksgiving dinner. And there’s still a bit of time that you can try them out first!

Just picked this one up from my friend Marci Leishman,
who brought them when we were doing that scrapbook for the Make-a-Wish kid.

Had to have the recipe. They were divine!

Family loves them.

Made them for a family party Sunday night.
Would have taken a photograph . . . but . . . uhhhhh . . . we finished them off yesterday. ;)

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bars

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 cup oil

2 cups canned pumpkin

4 eggs

optional: nuts, raisins or chocolate chips (really, would you use anything but chocolate chips? ;) )

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 pan. Mix all ingredients in order given. Place in greased pan. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool, then frost. (Note: You can also use cookie sheet. It makes a ton.)

Frosting:

2 cups powder sugar

1/3 cup butter

3 oz. cream cheese

1 T. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Couple of notes. I didn’t have cloves, so obviously I didn’t use any and it tasted great. Also, you can use a small (regular) size of canned pumpkin for the 2 cups of canned pumpkin. I believe it’s just shy of 2 cups, but it works. And I used the cookie sheet method too. I like that much better. Plus, it’s easier to justify–and take–a bite of something that’s not thick like a cake. :)

Just a side note: I made this same recipe last weekend for an extended family dinner, only I substituted the entire cup of oil with 1 cup of applesauce and you couldn’t tell. I had so many compliments, everyone loved it!! Very moist